Great Power Podcast

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Ward about his book The Internationalists, President Biden's foreign policy, and the impact of the 2024 presidential election on global affairs.

Guest biography

Alexander Ward is a national security reporter who covers the White House’s role in forming and executing U.S. foreign policy, and the power players shaping national security policy in Washington. He was the first anchor of POLITICO’s “National Security Daily” newsletter.

Ward has won numerous awards for his reporting and was part of a POLITICO team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Previously, Ward was Vox’s White House and national security reporter.

He is the author of the book, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump.” Ward is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, Michael Sobolik turns over the hosting chair to Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) for a discussion about Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game.

Note: the episode was originally published on Rep. Crenshaw's podcast, We Hold These Truths. This episode is excerpted from that broader conversation.

Guest biography

Originally from the Houston area, Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a proud 6th generation Texan. In 2006, Rep. Crenshaw graduated from Tufts University, where he earned his Naval officer commission through Navy ROTC. Following graduation, he immediately reported to SEAL training in Coronado, CA, where he met his future wife, Tara. After graduating SEAL training, Rep. Crenshaw deployed to Fallujah, Iraq to join SEAL Team Three, his first of five deployments overseas. In November 2018, Rep. Crenshaw was elected to represent the people of Texas’s Second Congressional District. In Congress, he serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee in Congress. 

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-3), Chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sobolik and Chairman Gallagher discuss the current TikTok legislation, the committee's focus on biosecurity, and the broader contours of U.S.-China strategic competition.

Guest biography

Congressman Mike Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. He was born and raised in Green Bay, where he now lives with his wife Anne and daughters, Grace and Rose. 

Rep. Gallagher served for seven years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, including two deployments to Iraq. He also served as the lead Republican staffer for the Middle East and Counterterrorism on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked in the private sector at an energy and supply chain management company in Green Bay.

Rep. Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University, a second in Strategic Intelligence from National Intelligence University, and a PhD in International Relations from Georgetown.

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER POCAST, Michael Sobolik cedes the host chair to his colleague Ilan Berman. The episode is a re-airing of Ilan's conversation with Michael on DISINFORMATION WARS, another AFPC product.

In the conversation, Ilan and Michael unpack H.R.7521, the TikTok bill making its way through Congress. Michael unpacks the legislation, maps out the policy and political terrain in the House and Senate, and previews what to expect over the next few weeks.

Resources from the conversation:

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Cleo Paskal about America's Compact agreements with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. These small Pacific island nations were critical battle sites in World War II, and today they form the backbone of America's military presence in East Asia. Political gridlock in Washington, however, could nix the deals that have secured these unique relationships for decades. Paskal explains this history, Beijing's efforts to spread its malign influence in the region, and the state of legislation on Capitol Hill.

Guest biography

Cleo Paskal is a non-resident senior fellow at FDD focusing on the Indo-Pacific region, in particular, the Pacific Islands and India. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, regularly lectures and moderates for seminars for the U.S. military, and has taught at defense colleges in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Oman.

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Iskander Rehman about protracted warfare throughout history, what a war between America and China could look like, and what the United States should do to strengthen its resiliency.

Guest biography

Iskander Rehman joined AFPC as a Senior Fellow for Strategic Studies in July 2020. His work focuses on applied history, grand strategy, and US defense strategy in Asia.

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Jimmy Quinn about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to influence U.S. politics at the state and local level. Sobolik and Quinn assess Beijing's success, examine the pervasiveness of CCP malign influence in U.S. states and cities, and review Washington's responses.

Guest biography

Jimmy Quinn is the national security correspondent for National Review and a Novak Fellow at The Fund for American Studies.

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik flies solo and reflects on the highs and (mostly) lows of America's China policy throughout 2023. He addresses three topics: the spy balloon, Taiwan, and TikTok. The main takeaway: despite the pervasive rhetoric that America's policy toward Beijing has fundamentally shifted toward a more competitive stance, Washington continues to pull its punches and leave significant leverage on the table.

RESOURCES FROM THE CONVERSATION

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Sean Mirski about America's path to regional supremacy, how to understand China as a rising power, and the future of global stability.

Guest biography.

Sean A. Mirski is a lawyer, historian, and U.S. foreign policy scholar who has worked on national security issues across multiple U.S. presidential administrations.
A term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he currently practices national security, foreign relations, and appellate law at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, and is also a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He previously served in the U.S. Department of Defense under both Republican and Democratic administrations as Special Counsel to the General Counsel, where he earned the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Award for Outstanding Achievement. He has written extensively on American history, international relations, law, and politics, including as author of We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus (PublicAffairs 2023), and as editor of the book Crux of Asia: China, India, and the Emerging Global Order (CEIP 2013). Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and served as a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Named one of Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30,” he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Chicago.

Resources from the conversation

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Nazak Nikakhtar about export controls and their role in U.S.-China competition. Nazak addresses specific U.S. export controls on Huawei, and also shares a creative idea to address the challenges TikTok poses to policymakers in Washington.

Guest biography

The Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar is a partner at Wiley. From 2018 to 2021, with unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Nazak served as the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Industry & Analysis at the International Trade Administration (ITA). Nazak also fulfilled the duties of the Under Secretary for Industry and Security at Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). In these roles, Nazak was the agency’s primary liaison with U.S. industry and trade associations, and she shaped major initiatives to strengthen U.S. industry competitiveness, promote innovation, and accelerate economic and job growth. As one of the key national security experts in the U.S. government, she developed and implemented innovative laws, regulations, and policies to safeguard strategically important technologies, strengthen the U.S. industrial base, and protect the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. As the Department’s lead on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), she played a key role in shaping U.S. investment policy. As the head of the agency’s trade policy office, she advised the U.S. government on legal and economic issues impacting critical technologies, advanced manufacturing, financial services, e-commerce, data privacy, cybersecurity, critical minerals/rare earths, and energy competition. Finally, as the federal agency’s lead on supply chain assessments, Nazak spearheaded the United States’ first-ever whole-of-government initiative to evaluate and strengthen supply chains across all strategic sectors of the economy.

Resources from the conversation